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“Hey, I’m sitting right here,” I protest.
“It isn’t like that for me.” Conner shrugs as he glances at the door.
“But you think it’s like that for Cole?” Disbelief coats Ace’s words.
Conner grins over at me and says, “I guess we’re about to find out.”
Chapter Four
Cole
All eyes turn on us as we pull into the school parking lot the next morning. I don’t want to fucking be here. The lingering hangover still pounding at my temples from the bottle of vodka I made friends with last night isn’t helping matters.
“Hey, look. It seems we’re famous,” Conner announces as he sees our fan club.
“Shut up, Con,” I mutter, less than impressed that we’ve got the eyes of almost the entire school on us.
I guess any hope that we could reappear and just blend into the background was a little optimistic. Who the hell am I kidding, we’ve got no chance of ever blending in around here with all these rich pricks walking around like they’re something fucking special because Daddy has an impressive bank account.
No matter how long we’re here, we’ll always be the trash from the Heights.
But right now, I need the limelight on me less than ever. It’s bad enough that Hadley is questioning me and my involvement in the events on Saturday night—events that I’m sure will be like Chinese fucking whispers around this place before long. I don’t need anyone else getting suspicious and looking for things they don’t want to find.
“You need to get laid, you know that? You’re even more moody than usual.”
I grunt a reply, because I can’t deny that he’s right. It’s just a shame that the only girl I think of when he says those words is a girl who should be nowhere near me. Yet, no matter how much she thinks she knows about me, she doesn’t seem to get the hint that I’m bad news.
Conner opens his mouth to say more, but I’m already over this morning and any other opinions he might have. I kill the engine. Dragging my blazer and backpack from the car, I slam the door harder than necessary and take off for the school.
When Coach had called me yesterday, he’d asked me to report to the locker room the second I arrived today, so that’s where I head, glad to have somewhere to be that isn’t surrounded by all these pretentious assholes with opinions about me and my life. No matter what they think they know, they’re wrong. I’m pretty sure there’s no one else on the planet who could understand the darkness that lives inside me.
I ignore everyone on my way to meet Coach. Kids try to catch my eye, but I refuse to look at any of them; a few brave girls move to walk beside me, but one of my signature devil stares and they soon sulk away.
The second I push through the locker room door, every member of the team turns their eyes on me. Looks like I wasn’t the only one summoned this morning.
“Get your asses changed, ladies. We’ve got shit to be doing,” Coach Miller barks from the doorway of his office. When no one follows orders, he bellows a “NOW” and claps his hands.
The noise breaks the team’s stares, and one by one they all turn away and focus on getting changed. That is, everyone but Hayden. That motherfucker keeps his attention trained on me long after all the others are distracted.
Bruises still darken his eyes and chin from where I took him down at his party last week. Motherfucker deserved it, the way he was touching Hadley when she clearly wasn’t up for it.
My fists clench as I take a step toward him. My knuckles might still be healing from our previous meeting, but I have no problem with giving him another reminder of what happens if he pisses me off. The movement must be enough, because he quickly turns and pulls his shirt over his head.
Fucking pussy. No wonder Hadley’s not interested; she wants a real man.
Coach gives us ten minutes to be ready before he starts his speech about how this team is more than just Bexley Danforth, and that even with him gone, we’ve got every chance of taking the championship this year.
As I glance at some of my teammates, I don’t see the same confidence on their faces that I do see on Coach’s. None of us are stupid—the biggest reason this team has the rep it does was because of that asshole’s throwing arm. Without him as our QB, this season could be anyone’s. Not that I really give a shit. I couldn’t care less if we lift that trophy or not, I just want to prove myself and have a shot at some kind of future that doesn’t involve Donny and his goons, or returning to a shithole like the Heights.
Some weird, fucked-up part of me might miss that place, but it doesn't mean I want to go back there any time soon. The night I ran there after I overheard the truth about my life was when I really realized that it wasn’t my home anymore. The people I used to consider family didn’t spare me a second glance as I made my way back to our old trailer. A couple of them watched as I stripped the boarding from the door. Back in the day, they’d have been there to help in a heartbeat. But, after only a few weeks of living in the Bay, it was like they’d forgotten that I was born and bred in that place.
Going back that night fucked me up. It was a mistake, and I think I realized that the second the car tires hit the gravel track leading to the trailer park. I didn’t need the memories from that fucking trailer to tell me that we were better off in our new life. Even if I didn’t want to accept it.
The things I saw in that place, the things I was subjected to... Bile burns my throat, the breakfast Ellen made for us threatening to make a reappearance as images of the neglect, the abuse, the torture that went on in that trailer assault me.
“Louder this time, ladies. We’re the fucking Sterling Seahawks and we’ve got this, right?” Coach barks before all the guys erupt in excitement.
I missed almost everything he said. I have no idea who’s taking Bexley’s place as captain or who’s going to take his position. Although to be honest, I also don’t give a shit. I just need to get out on that field and do my thing, allowing every fucked-up thought in my head to disappear as I focus solely on the game. It’s the only way I get that kind of freedom now, seeing as Coach’s random drug tests put a stop to my pill habit.
